bearlily

I have a few ideas for stories but I am worried incase similar ideas have already been made into books. So I have been spending alot of time on amazon trying to find out if there are similar stories. I plan on spending more time actually reading the books I have found to contain similar ideas just so I can make sure what I write is different.

Is this a good idea or am I procrastinating?

Another thing I seem to do is read a book and think 'there is NO WAY I could write anything so great' so I talk myself out of even starting to write, then I read another book and think' if she/he could write that and people like it, them surely I can write something good too'

Every night before I go to sleep I am writing in my head, pages and pages but I can't commit anything to paper (or pc!).
I just have a block when it comes to getting it down.

Any suggestions to overcome any of these problems would be greatly appreciated!

Bearlily xx

Viqto

I used to have this problem, but then I started writing a 'Journal'. This journal was actually a collection of story ideas and plotlines that I didn't want swimming in my head anymore.

As for reading to see if you are plagerizing.....you will never read fast enough. I say write your stories, and let someone else tell you if they are similar to someone elses. If they are, they are still different because everyone writes differently and characters are different and what not.

As for never writing down what goes through your head at night, try talking about it into a tape recorder. Then listening to it the next day. Most of the time when I have a similar situation I cna never remember what I thought the night before.

Hope this helps!

__________________
"A quill won't dip itself."

~Mr. Searle, my English teacher from High School

bearlily

Hi, Thanks for your replies!
Viqto, thanks for the suggestions. The journal is a great idea. I used to always write in a journal but stopped about 5 years ago. It didn't even occur to me to start it again so thanks for the tip. All your ideas are great and I appreciate your suggestions.

Starrwriter, thank you for your reply and honesty. You are right, it is procrastination-I can see that now

Many thanks xx

__________________
'And if my thought-dreams could be seen
They'd probably put my head in a guillotine
But it's alright, Ma, it's life, and life only.'
Bob Dylan~genius~

Robgb

Don't waste your time worrying about what's been done. Just do it. Even if you manage to accidently rip someone's idea, be assured that they more than likely accidentally ripped it from someone else -- there's nothing new under the sun.

What makes an idea work, what makes it sing, is not the idea itself, but the execution of that idea. That means prose that pops off the page and characters that live and breathe.

If you want to be a writer, you have to put your butt in the chair. Every day. Rain or shine. Tired or wired.

There's no way around it.

__________________
Robert Gregory Browne
Anatomy of a Book Deal
http://www.robertgregorybrowne.com
A Measure of Darkness
St. Martin's Press, 2007

Robgb

What he/she said.

By the way, Starrwriter, I was raised in Honolulu. And I'm homesick like crazy.

__________________
Robert Gregory Browne
Anatomy of a Book Deal
http://www.robertgregorybrowne.com
A Measure of Darkness
St. Martin's Press, 2007